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At least 199 records · Page 11

Fast explicit solutions for neutrino-electron scattering: Explicit asymptotic methods

Here, we present results of explicit asymptotic approximations applied to neutrino-electron scattering in a representative model of neutrino population evolution under conditions characteristic of core-collapse supernova explosions or binary neutron star mergers. It is shown that this approach provides stable solutions of these stiff systems of equations, with accuracy and time stepping comparable to that for standard implicit treatments such as backward Euler, fixed point iteration, and Anderson-accelerated fixed point iteration. Because each time step can be computed more rapidly with the explicit asymptotic approximation than with implicit methods, this suggests that algebraically stabilized explicit integration methods could be used to compute neutrino evolution coupled to hydrodynamics more efficiently in stellar explosions and mergers than the methods currently in use.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Numerical Continuation Methods for Intrusive Uncertainty Quantification Studies

Rigorous modeling of engineering systems relies on efficient propagation of uncertainty from input parameters to model outputs. In recent years, there has been substantial development of probabilistic polynomial chaos (PC) Uncertainty Quantification (UQ) methods, enabling studies in expensive computational models. One approach, termed ”intrusive”, involving reformulation of the governing equations, has been found to have superior computational performance compared to non-intrusive sampling-based methods in relevant large-scale problems, particularly in the context of emerging architectures. However, the utility of intrusive methods has been severely limited due to detrimental numerical instabilities associated with strong nonlinear physics. Previous methods for stabilizing these constructions tend to add unacceptably high computational costs, particularly in problems with many uncertain parameters. In order to address these challenges, we propose to adapt and improve numerical continuation methods for the robust time integration of intrusive PC system dynamics. We propose adaptive methods, starting with a small uncertainty for which the model has stable behavior and gradually moving to larger uncertainty where the instabilities are rampant, in a manner that provides a suitable solution.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Titania-Containing Recycled Polypropylene Surfaces with Photo-Induced Reversible Switching Wettability

Creation of smart surfaces with reversible wettability has always fascinated researchers over the past years but complicated methods are still employed. This study reports a facile and environment-friendly fabrication of smart composite coatings from recycled polypropylene (PP) plastics in which titanium dioxide or titania particles are added to impart extreme anti-wettability with improved thermal stability. The method used is simple and economical as the utilization of used PP plastics can positively impact to the volume reduction of plastic waste in the environment. Titania, being photo-responsive, makes the wetting behavior switch reversibly (i.e. from being superhydrophobic to hydrophilic and vice versa) by employing ultraviolet light as a stimulus and storage in the dark for superhydrophobicity restoration. Combined with relatively high thermal stability, the PP/TiO{sub 2} composites are thought to be useful not only as smart coatings but also for a wide variety of barrier-related applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A Study of the von Neumann Stability Analysis of a Semi-implicit Numerical Method Applied Over the Radial Impurity Transport Equation in Tokamak Plasma

The radial impurity transport equation for tokamak plasma is a form of diffusion–convection–reaction equation. The impurity transport equation is solved to determine the distribution of impurity (non-fuel) ion species with different ionization states perpendicular to magnetic surfaces of tokamak plasma. The equation for each charge (ionization) state Z is a non-linear, second-order in space, first-order in time, parabolic partial differential equation coupled to the previous Z − 1 and the next Z + 1 charge states of the impurity species through its reaction term. The number of differential equations to be solved simultaneously is hence determined by the number of ionization states of the impurity species studied. The solution to the set of these coupled equations can be obtained using a semi-implicit numerical method applied on it. The present study describes the application of von Neumann stability analysis over the semi-implicit numerical method applied over the radial impurity transport equation and determines a generic stability criterion for the method. The stability analysis is further illustrated using the geometry of Aditya tokamak installed at the Institute for Plasma Research Gandhinagar, India as an example. The impurity species considered is oxygen (Atomic number = 8). This leads to a set of eight coupled equations for charge states Z = 1 to 8 over which von Neumann analysis is illustrated in present study.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Effect of anisotropic dust pressure and superthermal electrons on propagation and stability of dust acoustic solitary waves

Employing the reductive perturbation technique, Zakharov–Kuznetzov (ZK) equation is derived for dust acoustic (DA) solitary waves in a magnetized plasma which consists the effects of dust anisotropic pressure, arbitrary charged dust particles, Boltzmann distributed ions, and Kappa distributed superthermal electrons. The ZK solitary wave solution is obtained. Using the small-k expansion method, the stability analysis for DA solitary waves is also discussed. The effects of the dust pressure anisotropy and the electron superthermality on the basic characteristics of DA waves as well as on the three-dimensional instability criterion are highlighted. It is found that the DA solitary wave is rarefactive (compressive) for negative (positive) dust. In addition, the growth rate of instability increases rapidly as the superthermal spectral index of electrons increases with either positive or negative dust grains. A brief discussion for possible applications is included.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

An Adaptive Fourier Filter for Relaxing Time Stepping Constraints for Explicit Solvers

Filtering is necessary to stabilize piecewise smooth solutions. The resulting diffusion stabilizes the method, but may fail to resolve the solution near discontinuities. Moreover, high order filtering still requires cost prohibitive time stepping. This paper introduces an adaptive filter that controls spurious modes of the solution, but is not unnecessarily diffusive. Consequently we are able to stabilize the solution with larger time steps, but also take advantage of the accuracy of a high order filter.

Gelb, Anne↗

Enhancing stability, magnetic anisotropy, and coercivity of manganese aluminum: Machine learning, ab initio , and micromagnetic modeling

The binary manganese aluminum (MnAl) alloy with L⁢1 0 crystal structure is a promising rare earth (RE) element-free permanent magnetic material because of its exceptional magnetic properties. However, experimentally synthesizing it in a stable bulk form is extremely challenging. Here, in this study, an alternative method of stabilizing the material, a pathway for experimental synthesis and validation, is proposed and theoretically verified. This is done by partially substituting Mn and Al sites with Fe and Ni and identifying its enhanced phase stability, saturation magnetization density, magnetic anisotropy, and coercivity from density functional theory (DFT), machine learning (ML) crystal graph convolution neural network (CGCNN), and micro-magnetic modeling. When considering a fixed 50% Ni, the magnetic anisotropy increases with the increasing Fe content but decreases the formation energy. The calculated formation energies, elastic constants, and phonon frequencies demonstrate that the binary and quaternary compositions are stable. Most importantly, in 50% Fe and Ni-substituted-equiatomic phase, magnetic anisotropy constants and saturation magnetization density increase by 56% and 23% as compared to the MnAl. Further, the coercivity of the equiatomic phase predicted with micro-magnetic modeling is higher by 17% than the parent compound.

Bhandari, Churna [Ames National Laboratory, and Io↗

Method for boosting dispersive spectrograph stability 1000× using interferometry with crossfaded pairs of delays

We demonstrate a key step along a technical route to achieving cm/s scale accuracy for astronomical spectrographs over long (multi-year) time scales, which is critical for the Doppler characterization of Earth sized exoplanets, and measurement of small cosmic redshift drift over many years. This same technique also enables searching exoplanet atmospheres for biosignificant molecules in direct planet imaging using, otherwise, insufficiently low resolution and drift prone dispersive (grating or prism) spectrographs. Using a method called crossfading for externally dispersed interferometers (EDIs) to get highly robust spectra, we recently demonstrated a factor of 1000 x reduction in the net shift of an EDI measured ThAr line to a deliberate simulated wavelength translation of the detector. This 1000 x gain in disperser stability can be combined with conventional stability gains afforded by fiber scramblers, vacuum tanks, and thermal control, to provide an additional 1 to 3 orders of magnitude reduction in the net point spread function shift drift. Crossfading combines high- and low-delay fringing signals that react oppositely in phase to cancel their net reaction to a detector wavelength drift. This can be implemented by an interferometer addition to a facility spectrograph.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Wet-chemical systems and methods for producing black silicon substrates

A wet-chemical method of producing a black silicon substrate. The method comprising soaking single crystalline silicon wafers in a predetermined volume of a diluted inorganic compound solution. The substrate is combined with an etchant solution that forms a uniform noble metal nanoparticle induced Black Etch of the silicon wafer, resulting in a nanoparticle that is kinetically stabilized. The method comprising combining with an etchant solution having equal volumes acetonitrile/acetic acid:hydrofluoric acid:hydrogen peroxide.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Leveraging Framework Instability: A Journey from Energy Storage to Drug Delivery

Amorphous pharmaceuticals often suffer from poor physical stability, which can negate their high solubility, fast dissolution rate, and better oral bioavailability vs. crystalline forms. This represents a major hurdle to processing, storage, and delivery of amorphous pharmaceuticals. Several approaches to addressing these problems have been pursued, but there is still a need for a general method for stabilizing the amorphous form. We describe a novel approach using a water-unstable metal-organic framework as a drug delivery vehicle that demonstrates improved amorphous form stability accompanied by remarkably enhanced solubility and a fast dissolution rate. This research project spanned eleven years from conception to realization and dissemination. With origins in understanding the stability or porous solids for energy storage materials, the work also highlights potential of basic science understanding to illuminate new areas of application.

Chemistry↗

Numerical investigation of CO{sub 2} emission and thermal stability of a convective and radiative stockpile of reactive material in a cylindrical pipe of variable thermal conductivity

In this paper the CO{sub 2} emission and thermal stability in a long cylindrical pipe of combustible reactive material with variable thermal conductivity are investigated. It is assumed that the cylindrical pipe loses heat by both convection and radiation at the surface. The nonlinear differential equations governing the problem are tackled numerically using Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg method coupled with shooting technique method. The effects of various thermophysical parameters on the temperature and carbon dioxide fields, together with critical conditions for thermal ignition are illustrated and discussed quantitatively.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Preparation of 1,3-Dihydroxyphenazine

The ability to effectively store energy produced by intermittent renewable sources is a critical challenge for chemists and materials scientists. Redox flow batteries (RFB), which generate current by the flow of electrons between dissolved redox active compounds in separate solutions, are envisioned as a method to store renewable energy at the electrical grid scale. The best known examples of RFBs are driven by redox active metal or main group complexes. Within the past decade, redox active organic molecules have begun to be used in the construction of RFBs with high cell potential and cycle stability, at economical price points. Of particular interest are substituted dihydroxy phenazines, a class of heterocycles, that have recently been used as an anolyte for aqueous organic RFBs. Recent work indicates that different regioisomers of dihydroxyphenazine show dramatically different solubility and stability under electrochemical cycling conditions. Of particular interest was 1,3-dihydroxyphenazine (1,3-DHP), which showed greater than 1.5 M solubility in 2M KOH and excellent electrochemical stability. Current methods of producing 1,3-DHP, however, are low yielding and cumbersome. In the article proposal that follows, we offer an improved method of producing 1,3-DHP at high purity and moderate yield. The method detailed below was used by the Materials Engineering Research Facility (MERF) at Argonne National Lab to deliver more than 1.5 kg of this compound for use in the construction of aqueous organic RFBs.

Dzwiniel, Trevor [Argonne National Laboratory (ANL↗

A model with competition between the cell lines in leukemia under treatment

The evolution of leukemia is modeled with a delay differential equation model of four cell populations: two populations (healthy and leukemic) ) of stem-like cells involving a larger category consisting of proliferating stem and progenitor cells with self-renew capacity and two populations (healthy and leukemic) of mature cells, considering the competition of healthy vs. leukemic cell populations and three types of division that a stem-like cell can exhibit: self-renew, asymmetric division and differentiation. In the model it is assumed that the treatment acts on the proliferation rate of the leukemic stem cells and on the apoptosis of stem and mature cells. The emphasis in this model is on establishing relevant parameters for chronic and acute manifestations of leukemia. Stability of equilibria is investigated and sufficient conditions for local asymptotic stability will be given using a Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Fundamental Studies of the Reforming of Oxygenated Compounds over Supported Metal Catalysts

The main objective of our research has been to elucidate fundamental concepts associated with controlling the activity, selectivity, and stability of bifunctional, metal-based heterogeneous catalysts for tandem reactions, such as liquid-phase conversion of oxygenated hydrocarbons derived from biomass. We have shown that bimetallic catalysts that combine a highly-reducible metal (e.g., platinum) with an oxygen-containing metal promoter (e.g., molybdenum) are promising materials for conversion of oxygenated hydrocarbons because of their high activity for selective cleavage for carbon-oxygen bonds. We have developed methods to stabilize metal nanoparticles against leaching and sintering under liquid-phase reaction conditions by using atomic layer deposition (ALD) to apply oxide overcoat layers. We have used controlled surface reactions to produce bimetallic catalysts with controlled particle size and controlled composition, with an important application being the selective conversion of biomass-derived molecules. The synthesis of catalysts by traditional methods may produce a wide distribution of metal particle sizes and compositions; and thus, results from spectroscopic and reactions kinetics measurements have contributions from a distribution of active sites, making it difficult to assess how the size and composition of the metal particles affect the nature of the surface, the active sites, and the catalytic behavior. Thus, we have developed methods to synthesize bimetallic nanoparticles with controlled particle size and controlled composition to achieve an effective link between characterization and reactivity, and between theory and experiment. We have also used ALD to modify supported metal catalysts by addition of promoters with atomic-level precision, to produce new bifunctional sites for selective catalytic transformations. We have used a variety of techniques to characterize the metal nanoparticles in our catalysts, including scanning transmission electron microcopy (STEM) to measure size and structure, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) to measure atomic composition, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) to measure oxidation state and metal coordination, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to study adsorbed species, laser Raman spectroscopy to probe metal oxide promoters, and temperature programmed reaction/desorption to study the energetics of adsorption and desorption processes. We have studied our bimetallic catalysts for the selective cleavage of carbon-oxygen bonds, and we have studied the effects of adding metal oxide promoters to supported platinum and gold catalysts for water-gas shift (i.e., the production of hydrogen by reaction of carbon monoxide with water). We anticipate that the knowledge obtained from our studies will allow us to identify promising directions for new catalysts that show high activity, selectivity, and stability for important reactions, such as the conversion of biomass-derived oxygenated hydrocarbons to fuels and chemicals.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Pairwise adaptive thermostats for improved accuracy and stability in dissipative particle dynamics

We examine the formulation and numerical treatment of dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) and momentum-conserving molecular dynamics. We show that it is possible to improve both the accuracy and the stability of DPD by employing a pairwise adaptive Langevin thermostat that precisely matches the dynamical characteristics of DPD simulations (e.g., autocorrelation functions) while automatically correcting thermodynamic averages using a negative feedback loop. In the low friction regime, it is possible to replace DPD by a simpler momentum-conserving variant of the Nosé–Hoover–Langevin method based on thermostatting only pairwise interactions; we show that this method has an extra order of accuracy for an important class of observables (a superconvergence result), while also allowing larger timesteps than alternatives. All the methods mentioned in the article are easily implemented. Numerical experiments are performed in both equilibrium and nonequilibrium settings; using Lees–Edwards boundary conditions to induce shear flow.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Surface phase of TiO{sub 2} modified with La{sub 2}O{sub 3} and its effect on the photocatalytic H{sub 2} evolution

Graphical abstract: The La{sub 2}O{sub 3}/TiO{sub 2}-900 °C (or La{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Ti(OH){sub 4}-900 °C), with surface anatase phase, show the similar photocatalytic activity. The presence of the surface anatase phase is important for high photocatalytic activity of TiO{sub 2} modified with La{sub 2}O{sub 3} (La{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Ti(OH){sub 4}-900 °C or La{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Ti(OH){sub 4}-900 °C){sub .} - Highlights: • Loading La{sub 2}O{sub 3} on anatase TiO{sub 2} is an effective method for stabilizing the anatase phases both in the surface and in the bulk region. • The high crystallinity of the surface anatase phase is important for high photocatalytic activity of TiO{sub 2} modified with La{sub 2}O{sub 3.} - Abstract: TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles modified with La{sub 2}O{sub 3} were prepared by an impregnation method using anatase TiO{sub 2} support (La{sub 2}O{sub 3}/TiO{sub 2}) or amorphous Ti(OH){sub 4} support (La{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Ti(OH){sub 4}). The bulk and surface crystalline phases of La{sub 2}O{sub 3}/TiO{sub 2} (or La{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Ti(OH){sub 4}) have been characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and UV Raman spectroscopy. Besides, morphology and particle size of La{sub 2}O{sub 3}/TiO{sub 2} and La{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Ti(OH){sub 4} samples have been determined by TEM (transmission electron microscope) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), respectively. It is found that the phase transformation and increase of the particle size of TiO{sub 2} can be more effectively inhibited in the La{sub 2}O{sub 3}/TiO{sub 2} than in the La{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Ti(OH){sub 4}. Photocatalytic experiments indicated that the La{sub 2}O{sub 3}/TiO{sub 2} (or La{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Ti(OH){sub 4}) samples with surface anatase phase have the similar overall photocatalytic activities. Moreover, it is found that the high crystallinity of surface anatase phase is benefit for the high photocatalytic activity of TiO{sub 2} modified with La{sub 2}O{sub 3}.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Thermodynamic parameters for binding of some halogenated inhibitors of human protein kinase CK2

Highlights: • Two new compounds being potential human CK2a inhibitors are studied. • Their IC50 values were determined in vitro. • The heats of binding and kbind were estimated using DSC. • The increased stability of protein–ligand complexes was followed by fluorescence. • Methylated TBBt derivative (MeBr3Br) is almost as active as TBBt. - Abstract: The interaction of human CK2α with a series of tetrabromobenzotriazole (TBBt) and tetrabromobenzimidazole (TBBz) analogs, in which one of the bromine atoms proximal to the triazole/imidazole ring is replaced by a methyl group, was studied by biochemical (IC{sub 50}) and biophysical methods (thermal stability of protein–ligand complex monitored by DSC and fluorescence). Two newly synthesized tri-bromo derivatives display inhibitory activity comparable to that of the reference compounds, TBBt and TBBz, respectively. DSC analysis of the stability of protein–ligand complexes shows that the heat of ligand binding (H{sub bind}) is driven by intermolecular electrostatic interactions involving the triazole/imidazole ring, as indicated by a strong correlation between H{sub bind} and ligand pK{sub a}. Screening, based on fluorescence-monitored thermal unfolding of protein–ligand complexes, gave comparable results, clearly identifying ligands that most strongly bind to the protein. Overall results, additionally supported by molecular modeling, confirm that a balance of hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions contribute predominantly, relative to possible intermolecular halogen bonding, in binding of the ligands to the CK2α ATP-binding site.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Bulk ultrafine grained/nanocrystalline metals via slow cooling

Cooling, nucleation, and phase growth are ubiquitous processes in nature. Effective control of nucleation and phase growth is of significance to yield refined microstructures with enhanced performance for materials. Recent studies reveal that ultrafine grained (UFG)/nanocrystalline metals exhibit extraordinary properties. However, conventional microstructure refinement methods, such as fast cooling and inoculation, have reached certain fundamental limits. It has been considered impossible to fabricate bulk UFG/nanocrystalline metals via slow cooling. Here, we report a new discovery that nanoparticles can refine metal grains to ultrafine/nanoscale by instilling a continuous nucleation and growth control mechanism during slow cooling. The bulk UFG/nanocrystalline metal with nanoparticles also reveals an unprecedented thermal stability. This method overcomes the grain refinement limits and may be extended to any other processes that involve cooling, nucleation, and phase growth for widespread applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗